WHO scientist: coronavirus 'extremely unlikely escaped from a lab'

Members of the World Health Organization team, wearing protective gear are seen during their visit to the Hubei Center for animal disease control and prevention in Wuhan, China's central Hubei Province on February 2, 2021. /VCG

Australian scientistDominic Dwyer, who's on the World Health Organization mission team to China, said the novel coronavirus is "extremely unlikely escaped from a lab."

"The most politically sensitive option we looked at was the virus escaping from a laboratory. We concluded this was extremely unlikely," he wrote in a story recalling his trip to China. "We heard that scientists' blood samples, which are routinely taken and stored, were tested for signs they had been infected. No evidence of antibodies to the coronavirus was found. We looked at their biosecurity audits. No evidence."